Graffiti Bridge Movie Review

Does cinema have a more inspired moment than the one in Graffit Bridge where Morris Day sings the alphabet song, then, when he gets to "P," urinates on a house plant -- and then sets it on fire?

No, I say.

This little-seen and ill-regarded sequel to Purple Rain gives us Prince again as The Kid, dueling with Day for a second time -- this time as businessmen. Both are now Minneapolis club owners, and Kid's in hock to Day for some reason -- so to settle their debts, they agree to a songwriting contest. If Kid loses, he has to give his club over to Day.

Kid seeks a muse in Aura (Ingrid Chavez, in her one and only film appearance), who coaxes a masterpiece out of him under the titular Graffiti Bridge (which looks suspiciously like something you'd see on a miniature golf course) just before tragedy strikes. Convenient ending ensues.

Prince is directing this time out, and even more so than in Under the Cherry Moon, the man proves he has no idea what to do behind the camera. Everything about Graffiti Bridge screams corny -- not just the straight-outta-Vegas mini-sets, but the horrible acting, terrible dialogue, and inane script (also, ahem, written by Prince). Considering he had six years to get this together since Rain, we could have expected something a little more fully baked.

Bridge has one thing going for it, and that's that the DVD packs more bass in it than any other disc I've ever screened. If you want to give your home theater setup a workout, this is the way to do it. You'll find a handful of music videos on the disc as well.